Disney’s Newest Short Is a Love Letter to Animation

Disney is bringing all the love in a soon-to-be-released short. This year, The Walt Disney Company is celebrating 100 years of business. For 100 years, Disney has shared their passion for storytelling with fans worldwide. The company is known as a pioneer in the animation industry, creating beloved characters that live on forever. Walt Disney is known for his first animated film, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937), with many more classics to follow, like Cinderella (1950), Peter Pan (1953), and Robin Hood (1973).

Although Snow White was his first animated film that was an absolute hit, he would say to never lose sight of the character that made Disney Disney, which is Mickey Mouse! In fact, Walt Disney once said, “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing—that it was all started by a mouse.” As The Walt Disney Company has grown over the last 100 years, the creative visionaries of the Walt Disney Animation Studios have changed the trajectory of animation.

After Walt Disney’s death in 1966, Imagineers felt lost without his hope and creativity to create. Although losing the icon who started it all, animators and Imagineers pushed forward to create more than Walt could have imagined. Now, Guests get to experience films like Frozen (2013), Hercules (1997), and Encanto (2021). Furthermore, Disney Parks are a jaw-dropping dream to visit with Parks all over the world. These 100 years of storytelling in all capacities wouldn’t be possible without the hard workers behind the scenes.

In celebration of Disney100, Disney has commemorated the year with limited-time merchandise, exhibits, entertainment, Park experiences, and so much more. As a part of the party for Disney100, Walt Disney Animation Studios joined in with an all-new short.

‘Once Upon a Studio’

Disney’s new short Once Upon a Studio (2023) “premiered on June 11, 2023, at the Annecy Film Festival,” according to Disney Fandom. Alongside Disney’s newest animated film, Wish (2023), Once Upon a Studio will be released on November 22, 2023. This past weekend at Disney’s largest fan event, Destination D23, the short was showcased to all attendees.

According to Scott Gustin, “The 9-minute short, which was created as part of #Disney100 and is referred to as a “love letter to animation,” features over 400 characters shown in live-action, traditional animation, and CGI.” There has not yet been a note of where it will be released, whether it be on Disney+. 

Additionally, Gustin wrote on X, “It’s obvious Disney is VERY proud of this one – and it’s great to see the short exceeded fans’ high expectations.” With all the excitement circulating the new short, November can’t come soon enough! The feature photo shows Genie from Aladdin (1992) and Olaf from Frozen, which is enough to show the homage this short will pay.

Are you excited to watch Once Upon a Studio?